ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025: Sponsorship rates surge up to 50%

As the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup gears up to begin on September 30, 2025, advertiser interest and sponsorship rates have reached remarkable levels, reflecting both the growing commercial appeal of women’s cricket and the strategic timing of the tournament.

With JioStar and JioHotstar serving as the official broadcast partners, brands are actively exploring sponsorship and advertising opportunities across television, OTT and connected-TV (CTV) platforms, said industry sources who revealed that the sponsorship rates have gone up by up to 50% compared to the last edition in 2022.

Also read: ICC Women’s World Cup 2025: Ad rates up 15%

Also read: Sanjog Gupta on Women’s World Cup 2025 

While the broadcaster is yet to reveal the brands that have come onboard, on August 29, ICC announced a landmark women’s-only global partnership with Google, saying the collaboration will lead to the world cricket governing body leveraging Google’s advanced technology and commitment to supporting women’s sports, enhancing fan engagement and increasing accessibility.

Sponsorship for the Women’s World Cup has been structured across multiple tiers, with rates significantly higher than in 2022, said industry experts. While the title sponsorship is valued at Rs 20 crore to Rs 35 crore. Strong India-hosted demand and standalone women’s-event packaging are pushing the top slot into the mid-30s crore range, offering premium visibility across opening and final matches, India games, and all broadcast feeds.

Presenting/Co-Sponsor value stands at Rs 8–15 crore with multi-asset bundles, including TV, OTT, CTV, in-stadia presence, shoulder programming, and IP tags, typically sitting in this range, representing a 25–50% increase from 2022.

Associate/Powered-By/Category Partners are valued at Rs 4–8 crore for second-tier assets, covering feature integrations, on-ground signage rotations, studio shows, social/IP content, and other activations.

Digital-Only Premium Add-Ons for OTT/CTV packages such as home-screen takeovers, India-game mid-roll pods, and CTV roadblocks are priced at ₹1–4 crore per bundle on top of base sponsorships. OTT CPMs are quoted at Rs 500–600, justifying the higher digital line items, sources said.

Talking about the advertiser interest this time, Rajiv Dubey, Vice President, Head of Media, Dabur India, notes, “Advertiser interest in the Women’s World Cup is likely to be higher than in 2022, but with rising ad rates, brands are becoming more selective about which games, devices, and audiences to target. The real surge will come if India progresses to the semi-finals and finals, as that is when associations can build stronger equity around women’s cricket rather than just one-off campaigns.”

According to Yasin Hamidani from Media Care Brand Solutions, “Advertisers seem mostly positive, seeing the rate hikes (10–15%) as justified. Many believe women’s cricket has moved from being a ‘nice-cause’ to a serious commercial property. Brands are excited by the dual channels (TV + OTT), younger and more gender-balanced audiences, and the storytelling potential that comes with women’s sport.”

He added that advertiser interest is much stronger than the 2022 edition: “In 2022, women’s cricket was growing but still often tied to men’s events; standalone sponsorships were rarer. For the 2025 World Cup, multiple brands across FMCG, e-commerce, tech, finance, etc., are coming in early and asking for premium inventory. Also, ICC has officially decoupled women’s events from men’s for sponsorship, making the women’s tournament its own commercial product.”

Current benchmarks for ad spends underline this growing commercial momentum: television ad slots range from ₹1.5 lakh for a 10-second spot, going up to ₹3 lakh for key matches, while OTT (JioHotstar) rates are ₹500–600 per CPM. Prize money has also risen sharply, with champions receiving US$4.48 million (~₹122.5 crore) versus US$3.5 million in 2022.

Umesh Bopche, CEO of Experience Commerce and CYLNDR India, highlighted key shifts since 2022: “Brands are leaning in more aggressively this year, and the reasons trace back to what’s changed since 2022. Then, awkward New Zealand time zones dampened live viewing in India, and while engagement was record-breaking, the property still lacked full pricing power. In 2025, the tournament sits in India/Sri Lanka with 3:00 pm prime-time starts, prize money has jumped four-fold to $13.88m, higher even than the men’s 2023 purse, and women’s cricket has proven its ability to drive audience momentum, with the 2022 edition already setting digital engagement records at 1.64 billion views.”

He added, “That combination has shifted advertiser sentiment from ‘test and learn’ to ‘buy with intent.’ India games on TV are commanding 25–40% higher rates than 2022, and connected-TV CPMs are the steepest riser as big-screen viewing in metros accelerates. The strategy mix is clear: TV for reach, CTV to deepen frequency in high-value households, OTT overlays for sharper product pushes, layered with women-forward creative, athlete IP, and festival tie-ins. Far from softening demand, higher rates are now seen as the cost of entry to a property that’s scaling fast.”

Network Perspective

A JioStar spokesperson confirmed the strong advertiser interest, saying, “We are in advance conversations with a healthy mix of traditional festive advertisers and newer categories looking to leverage the property. There has been a clear shift. Earlier, sponsorship was often led by CSR-linked or value-focused brands. Now, we are seeing larger deal sizes, wider category participation, and strong traction from premium, mainstream advertisers. Brands increasingly view women’s cricket as a high-impact, standalone platform and not just a peripheral investment. The festive season adds further momentum, making it especially attractive this year.”

The spokesperson added, “Women's cricket in India has a broad and diverse audience base, but the strongest traction is among premium, urban consumers. On TV (Star Sports): NCCS AB households contribute 62% of viewership, with nearly three-fourths from Hindi-speaking markets. The gender split is almost balanced at 55% male and 45% female, reflecting its inclusive cultural appeal. On Digital, viewership is dominated by young, affluent audiences. NCCS AB households account for 85% of viewership, nearly 80% comes from Hindi-speaking markets, and 77% of viewers are under 35 years of age. This highlights the format’s strong connection with the youth.”

They also emphasized that women’s cricket has seen tremendous growth over the past few years, both in terms of audience engagement and overall reach.

“The 2024 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup delivered nearly double the reach across both TV and digital compared to other content genres at the time, underscoring the growing popularity of women’s cricket. The upcoming ICC Women's Cricket World Cup has 97% of matches in primetime. Adding to the excitement, majority of India’s league stage matches are scheduled on Sundays, including marquee games against Pakistan, Australia, and England. All these factors create a strong platform for massive engagement across both TV and digital,” he said.

Unilever / Rexona & Dove signed a global, women-specific sponsorship deal with ICC running through 2027. The exact monetary value has not been disclosed.

The 2025 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup, with its prime-time scheduling, festival timing, and India-hosted matches, signals a decisive shift in the commercial stature of women’s cricket. Advertisers, broadcasters, and sponsors alike are recognizing the tournament as a premium, standalone property capable of delivering scale, engagement, and long-term brand equity.